Tom Silverman is the founder, chairman and CEO of the record label Tommy Boy Records (established 1981), and he is co-founder of the independent film and television company Tommy Boy Films. Silverman co-founded Dance Music Report magazine, which ran from 1978 to 1992, and he co-founded the Dance Music Hall of Fame, which existed from 2003 to 2005.

Silverman also co-founded and co-organized the annual New Music Seminar, which ran from 1980 to 1995 and which he relaunched in 2009 as a more frequent, touring event.

Mr. Silverman serves on the boards of RIAA, SoundExchange, the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM and its predecessors NAIRD/AFIM), and Merlin Network. He previously served on the boards of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Dance Music Hall of Fame, plus the NARM Manufacturer’s Advisory Board.

Silverman received the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Heroes Award in 2000.